"You are not alone".

That was the first thing God whispered to me as I sat still in my room meditating...waiting for Him. With these encouraging words, I took another deep breath and relaxed a bit. What I was doing seemed so different than anything I had ever been taught about how to spend time with God, or how to pray. Usually prayer and meditation were discussed as if they were one and the same. I had never seen meditation modeled, so I mostly associated it with images of Master Oogway, the wise old tortoise from Kung Fu Panda. 

I was nervous! Afraid of making this into something weird, mystical, or even worse, heretical. And the last thing I wanted to do was to "open myself up" to any false "spiritual forces". But I also knew that God had something more for me - a depth of intimacy with Him that He knew my heart desired. And I knew that whatever I experienced through meditation would have to be tested by His Word. 

As I sat there...waiting and expecting to just "be" with God...this is what I saw. He revealed a strikingly vivid image of a beautiful and eternal tree. I was in awe of this massive tree as I approached, and as I reached out to touch it, it was like my whole being became a part of the tree. I had become one of it's beautiful branches. I immediately felt filled with new life and brilliant light. 

God reminded me of two passages in scriptures. Romans 11 talks about a wild olive shoot being grafted into a tree and sharing in it's nourishing root. Another verse in John 15 says "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me". 

His Word had COME ALIVE before my eyes. This picture that I saw engaged my senses. It was a gift that day. A confirmation that God had things he wanted to tell me. Truths he wanted to bring alive in my soul. Truths that would go way beyond mental assent. Truth that I could EXPERIENCE, BELIEVE, and LIVE. 

It was then that I realized I need not fear meditation.

Since that moment, God has taken me on a journey of inspiration, study, discussion, and practice to discover:

• The unique characteristics of biblical meditation, and 
• The difference between Christ-centered meditation and other kinds of meditation   

God is removing the fear of the unknown and replacing that fear with simple truth. 

Meditation is pressing pause...on daily life that seems to move in fast forward...long enough to give your full attention to your Creator. It is space to hear from God and to breathe in God's presence. 

• Meditation should be Christ-centered and Scripture-established
• See What does the Bible Say About Meditation? 
• Meditation leads to a greater knowledge of our true identity
• God speaks the truth about who I AM in a world of voices telling me who I AM NOT (or who I'm failing to be). Knowing my true identity (in its brokenness and redemption) guards me from judging other people (in their brokenness and stages of redemption). Knowing that God places such a high value on our lives allows us to acknowledge value in ourselves and one another. 
• Meditation leads to an experiential knowledge of God
• Through meditation we have the opportunity to connect with our Creator based on the truth revealed to us in His Holy Scriptures (both the Old Testament and NewTestament). The amazing experiences I have lived out in my "sanctified imagination" during meditation have only revealed more about God's power, strength, love, wisdom, authority, and sovereignty. This causes me to actually WANT to read Scripture, not because I should, but because I desire more truth for daily meditation.
• In the times of meditation when I am face-to-face with God, I hear his voice encouraging me, correcting me, leading me, inspiring me, warning me, and instructing me. 
• Meditation leads to living out God's Truth in ways we've only dreamed of
• Meditation allows me to SEE the reality of His eternal Truths. When I see and experience God's Truth as my own daily reality, my heart deeply believes what I have seen with my spiritual eyes. Our actions are the fruit of what we TRULY believe, an overflow of what is in our hearts. 
• Connecting with Abba in stillness, as I picture His Word, helps me to rehearse the truth about a situation as opposed to rehearse past disappointments or a false expectation of the future. It's not about imagining a positive outcome for every situation in my life as much as it is seeing myself experience the joy, power, and intimacy of God's presence DESPITE my external life circumstance. This revelation empowers me to walk through the valleys of life and prepares me to walk through suffering, knowing that His presence is my sustaining power. 
• Meditation leads us to worship in reverence and awe
• "Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools...Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on Earth. Therefore let your words be few." Ecclesiastes 5:1-2
• "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." Matthew 6:5-8
• The pressure to talk is relieved in meditation. Instead, the emphasis is on listening to the King, then responding in faith and trust. There are times that I pour out my heart to God, but I always want that to come from a place of authenticity - not an attempt at a "great" prayer. 

• Attracting good things to my life in self-reliance 
• Focused on only positive life outcomes 
• Focused on posture, time, place, music, words, or silence as the primary concern